Maruti Celerio diesel undergoes final testing, launch expected in three months

Launched in petrol variant only, Maruti Suzuki India’s new Celerio hatchback hit the sweet spot owing to presence of AMT version in its range. The diesel powered Celerio is underway and is expected to be housed with MSI’s new 800cc diesel powertrain. Speculations are rife that Maruti Suzuki India has started final testing of Celerio diesel and the vehicle could launch in India soon. Sources close to the development have reported that MSI has shipped six prototypes of Celerio diesel to Japan where the final testing is being conducted. Hence it is being expected that the auto maker could launch Celerio diesel in India within next three months.

The new 793cc displacement, two cylinder diesel engine will be bestowed with common rail diesel technology. The engine is likely to generate a top power output of 50 Bhp and is claimed to be the smallest capacity diesel pwoertrain in India. A five-speed manual gearbox will be mated to the diesel mill, however Celerio diesel AMT could also be rolled out later. Other then Celerio, Maruti Suzuki India’s new diesel engine will also power upcoming light commercial vehicle codenamed Y9T along with a couple of other vehicles from MSI’s stable.

Media reports suggests that diesel version of Celerio will be offered in three trim levels- LDi, VDi and ZDi. The high-end variant of Celerio diesel, ZDi has also been caught testing which reveals that the trim could get a host of features including ABS as standard fitment. On the other hand mid-level trim, VDi is expected to get ABS as an optional feature. It has also been reported that most of the equipments from petrol version will be incorporated in the diesel range. On the price front we expect a slight price bump as compared to the petrol trim for obvious reasons.